Snowy Stopover
by lasatgirl60
Summary: Just a little piece of family fluff in time for the upcoming holiday. The GHOST crew has to make an emergency landing on a snowy world to repair the hyperdrive. As usual with Zeb, Ezra and Sabine something will happen.


SNOWY STOPOVER

"Hold on everyone, this landing is going to be rough!" Hera Syndulla called over the ship's com. Kanan Jarrus looked over at her and nodded.

"She's not kidding, guys!"

Chopper, ship's astromech droid let out a loud beep.

Down in the ship's cargo area, Ezra Bridger braced himself against the wall. Sabine Wren held onto the bottom rung of the ladder leading to the upper deck. Zeb Orrelios, the Lasat member of the GHOST crew, planted his big four-toed feet against a cargo container.

The ship shuddered as the snowy planet they were landing on appeared as the viewport.

"What a time for the engines to everheat!" Kanan called over the alarms.

"Well, excuse me, Kanan, if my ship doesn't meet your expectations!" Hera called back.

"I didn't mean anything!"

Hera reached over to pat his shoulder.

"I know! It's just that the last hyperspace jump overheated the hyperdrive!"

Down in the cargo bay, the other three crewmembers hung on tighter.

"I've located a landing area but it could be very cold outside!" Kanan said as he did a check of the atmosphere and gravity.

"We'll just have to break out the cold weather gear!" came Hera's response.

The GHOST came to a screeching landing at the bottom of a small hill surrounded by large trees covered in a blanket of snow.

"Hey, Zeb!" Ezra called as he tried to stand up, "Get your foot out of my face!"

The Lasat was wedged against the wall with both Sabine and Ezra laying on top of him. A cargo container had them pinned against the bulkhead.

"Ow!" Sabine groaned getting herself freed from a mountain of purple fur.

Zeb helped his smaller companions to their feet and they shook off the shock of the landing.

"Let's head up to see if the others are okay," Ezra said as he started up the ladder followed by Zeb and Sabine. When they reached the cockpit they were relieved to see Kanan, Hera and Chopper wre okay.

"Whew!" Zeb said flexing his muscles, "WHat a rough landing!"

"Sorry, Zeb," Hera said glaring at him, "Maybe you could've done better?" She winked at Kanan.

The Lasat's ears drooped and he got a sheepish look on his face.

"You guys in one piece?" Kanan asked grinning at Hera's sarcasm. That's what he loved most about her.

"More or less," was Sabine's answer.

"Where are we?" Ezra asked looking out the viewport at the snowy landscape.

"On some planet in the Outer Rim, that's all I know," Hera said checking the GHOST'S readouts, "We have to stay here for awhile while Chopper and I work on the hyperdrive."

"It could be worse," Kanan added, "The Empire could be suing us for target practice.!

Zeb chuckled and elbowed Sabine and Ezra.

"Since we'll be here awhile, why don't you three do a little exploring to stretch your legs," Kanan suggested, "I know how antsy you get when you get bored."

Hera grinned agreeing with him. She looked over at the three crewmembers who at times were like unruly children.

"Make sure you wear your cold weather gear, don't want you getting sick while we're here," Hera said in "mother mode".

The two teenagers and the Lasat nodded heading back to their cabins.

"Okay, Chopper, let's get working on the hyperdrive," Hera said to the droid.

Chopper grumbled making Kanan roll his eyes.

"Quick complaining," she said glaring at the droid, "Do you want to go outside with the kids in the cold?"

Chopper let out a groan.

"Okay, now be quiet and get to work!"

Kanan busied himself with taking readouts of the ship's other systems trying not to laugh. He couldn't hold it in and soon Hera joined him in the laughter.

Zeb, Sabine and Ezra climbed down the ladder to the cargo bay now dressed in thick hooded jackets, pants and gloves. Ezra and Sabine also had on boots, Zeb's feet remained bare. The Lasat's thick fur and toe pads would keep him warm enough.

"Zeb, won't your feet get cold?" Sabine asked adjusting her hood.

"Naw," the Lasat answered, "On Lasan, the winters could get very cold at times, so I'm used to it."

"Let's go check this place out," Sabine said patting her two friends on the arms.

Ezra activated the hatch opening, a blast of cold air hitting them.

"Whoa! That's cold!" he yelled and saw Zeb race past him.

"Don't be a baby, kid!" the Lasat called out. He was laughing as he stepped onto the snowy ground. Sabine was right behind him also laughing.

Ezra watched as Zeb bent down to grab a handful of snow and shaped it into a ball. A crooked grin appeared on the Lasat's face. There was a mischevious gleam in his big green eyes.

"Hey, kid!" he called out.

Ezra turned and got a faceful of snowball. Zeb doubled over laughing. Sabine had her own snowball and let Ezra have it in back of the head. She was laughing just as hard as Zeb.

"Hey! No fair!" Ezra yelled and then raised up his hands and with the Force let both Zeb and Sabine have it in the face with a small blizzard of snow.

"No Jedi powers!" came Zeb's response after he wiped snow away from his face. He sneezed, his pug-like nose clogged with snow. Sabine was spitting out snow from her mouth.

"Oh, Bridger, you're in for it!"

She ran to Ezra, knocked him down and rubbed his face in the snow. Zeb stood laughing until he nearly fell over. He was bombarded by two teenagers who flattened him to the ground rubbing his face in the snow. He sat up spitting snow but still laughing. The laughter carried up to the GHOST.

Hera and Kanan were looking out the viewport seeing their friends having fun. The laughter was coming over the com system since the three "kids" had their writ coms on in case Hera or Kanan needed them. They also wanted to keep tabs on them in case there was trouble which they were known to get in to.

"At least they can get rid of their excess energy," Hera said as she handed Kanan a wrench. The Jedi/rebel grinned up at her.

"Maybe we can get rid of some energy of our own!" Kanan answered winking at her.

Hera blushed and swatted his arm.

"Kanan Jarrus, you have a dirty mind!"

Chopper chortled and let out a whoop his way of laughing.

Both rebels gave in to laughter.

Outside the ship the two teenagers and the Lasat were climbing up a small hill trying to stuff snow down each other's jackets.

"Wow!" Ezra said as he reached the top first.

Zeb and Sabine arrived a few minutes later and saw what had Ezra's eyes so wide.

As far as the eye could see, were hills and a mountain range all covered with a blanket of pristine snow. Trees dotted the hillsides draped in snow and the planet's single sun made the snow sparkle like precious jewels.

"Looks like...home," Zeb whispered blinking tears from his eyes.

"Hey, are you crying?" Ezra asked hoping to give his older "sibling" a bad time.

"Uh...no," Zeb sniffed.

Sabine held his arm leaning against him.

"You know what we used to do when I was a kid?" the Lasat said getting his composure back.

"What, Zeb?" Sabine asked.

"Go sledding down a hill like this one. When I was little, we'd slide down a hill on a sled called a toboggan."

"Toboggan?" Ezra asked looking over at Sabine who was just as confused as he was.

"Yep. We don't have one on the GHOST but a cargo container lid will work. There's a big one that could hold all three of us."

"Sounds fun, Zeb," Sabine said smiling at her older friend who was more like a big brother.

"Okay, then. Let's go back to the GHOST and get us a sled!"

"What are you three up to?" Hera asked as she came down the ladder to see Zeb, Ezra and Sabine carrying a big cargo container lid that was as long as Zeb was tall towards the hold doorway.

"Going sledding," Zeb said giving her a toothy grin.

"You told us to have fun, so we're having fun," Ezra added.

"Zeb's showing us how to go sledding," came Sabine's answer.

"Sledding? Sounds fun. Just be careful and make sure you stay bundled up. Keep your wrist coms on in case you need us," the Twi'lek said smiling in a maternal way.

"Yes, Mom," Zeb said as he chuckled, "Let's go guys. The hill awaits us!"

"Hera, I could use your help up here!" Kanan called down to her.

Laughing softly, Hera climbed back up the ladder.

"What are the kids up to? No good?" Kanan asked seeing her smiling.

"No, they're going sledding. Using a cargo container lid to slide down the hill on."

"Don't tell me. Zeb's idea?"

"Yep."

"That Lasat never ceases to amaze me."

Hera's smile grew bigger and Kanan knew why. The big Lasat meant alot to both of them.

"Let's get back to fixing this hyperdrive..."

"I better test this sled out before you guys get on it," Zeb said as he positioned the cargo lid at the top of the hill.

"Okay," both Ezra and Sabine said together.

"Here goes!" Zeb said sitting down on the lid and pushed himself forward. The lid went sliding down with Zeb bouncing up and down like a ball on it.

"KARABAST!" came a cry echoing back up the hill.

Sabine and Ezra watched in awe the laughed seeing the Lasat bouncing down the hill.

FInally Zeb came to a stop against a bush his legs caught in the tiny branches. He uttered a string of Lasat curses that weren't for kid's ears.

"Zeb!" Ezra called from the top of the hill, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah! Just landed upside down! That was fun! I'll be up in a few minutes."

Soon he was back up at the hill top. Sabine was still laughing.

"You looked like a purple furred torpedo going down that hill!"

"Ha! Ha! Very funny! Let's see you guys try it, hmmmmm?"

An impish grin crossed the Lasat's face. His eyes gleamed with mirth.

Sabine and Ezra went sliding down the hill next bouncing worse than Zeb did. The Lasat held his stomach because he was laughing so hard. His booming laughter carried over the ship's com up to where Kanan and Hera sipped caf while watching out the viewport.

"Sounds like the kids are having fun," Hera said hearing Zeb's laughing along with Sabine and Ezra.

"Yeah, too bad we're stuck inside," Kanan said, "Sledding sounds fun."

"Hey," Hera answered, "The sooner the hyoerdrive gets repaired, the sooner we get out of here."

"Hey!" Zeb called down the hill, "Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine!" Sabine called back, "That was fun!"

"We should all go down this time around," Ezra said as he got back up to the top.

"Sure you can handle it?" Zeb said adjusting the hood on his coat, "Karabast...my ears are freezing!"

"Want to go back to the GHOST?" Sabine asked.

"No way!" both Zeb and Ezra said.

"Okay then, boys...let's do some more sledding!"

Sabine sat on the front of the container lid with Ezra behind her. Zeb sat in the very back his feet pushing on Sabine's sides.

"Boy, this is really a tight fit!" Sabine called back, "Zeb move your feet!"

"There's no room!"

"Hey! Let's go sledding! I'll hang onto Zeb's feet!" Ezra called back.

The Lasat pushed the cargo lid and the crewmembers went flying down the hill bouncing up and down. About halfway down the hill, they hit a bump and Zeb went flying off. The Lasat rolled the rest of the way down picking up snow along the way until he looked like a Lasat snowball.

"Zeb!" both Ezra ans Sabine called out seeing a giant snowball race past them with a loud cry of "Karabast!" coming from it. FInally the snowball came to a stop.

"Ezra! Sabine!" a faint voice called from within it, "Get me outa here!"

"Hold on!"

Both teenagers began digging at the snow until a purple furred ear perked up followed by the top of Zeb's head.

"H...Hurry...u...up...I...I'm f...freezing!"

A loud sneeze sounded breaking the snowball apart.

Sabine helped Zeb to his feet seeing that the Lasat was turning blue from the cold. He was shivering so bad his teeth were chattering.

"C'mon, big guy, let's get you back to the ship." Ezra said helping Sabine with the Lasat.

Kanan and Hera were finishing up the repairs when they saw Ezra and Sabine leading a very wet and very cold Lasat back to the ship.

"Chopper, open the cargo bay hatch!" hera said heading down the ladder.

"What happened?" Kanan asked as he saw Zeb shivering so hard he thought the Lasat's fur would fall out.

"Zeb fell off the sled and got caught in a giant snowball!" Ezra said as he laughed.

"N...Not...f...funny!" Zeb muttered and sneezed.

Hera stepped up and took over helping the big Lasat.

"Zeb, let's get you upstairs and out of those wet clothes before you catch pneumonia," she said helping him up the ladder.

A little bit later, after having a warm shower and redressed in dry clothes, Zeb sat on the common area couch wrapped in four blankets. The Lasat was drinking a cup of hot chocolate and looking alot better.

"Chopper says that we'll be able to leave by tomorrow morning," Kanan said seeing Hera fussing over Zeb like he were a kid like Ezra and Sabine.

"Good," Hera said as she rubbed Zeb's feet to warm them up, "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, sorry to be so much trouble."

"Oh, you're no trouble. Just remember to hang on tighter when sledding down a steep hill."

Zeb looked a little embarrassed and Hera ruffled the shorter fur on his head getting a giggle out of him.

"Let's have dinner," Kanan said, "After all this work, I'm getting a bit hungry."

The GHOST crew had a nice dinner of nerf stew and enjoyed the time together as a family. They all retired for the night the "kids" tired from their sledding adventure. The next morning they woke up to a gentle snowfall outside the ship.

"Wow!" Sabine said noticing that the others were coming up to the cockpit to see the snow. Chopper was beeping constantly, ruining the peace.

"What is it, rust bucket?" Zeb asked.

Chopper hit him in the leg with one of his manipulator arms. Zeb bared his teeth at him.

"He says the hyperdrive is up and running," Sabine answered.

"Hey kids, what's going on?" Kanan asked coming up behind Sabine. Hera was behind him.

"Hyperdrive's fixed," Ezra said.

Hera stared wistfully out at the snowy landscape.

"How beautiful," she whispered holding onto Kanan's arm, "Hate to leave."

"Well...we're not in any hurry to leave," Kanan said looking over at his family.

"We need to get back to Attolon," Hera answered, her wistful look growing.

"Can't we stay ?" Ezra asked giving Hera and Kanan innocent looks.

Zeb and Sabine gave them even more innocent looks.

"Please?" Sabine asked her brown eyes wide.

"Yeah...please?" Zeb answered trying to look as innocent as a Lasat could look.

Hera couldn't bear the expressions on the three "kid's" faces.

"Oh...all right, we'll stay a little longer."

"Good! More sledding!" Ezra said motioning to Sabine and Zeb to follow him back to the cargo hold. The Lasat and Mandalorian girl were chuckling as they followed Ezra.

"Hera, look what you started," Kanan said putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Kanan Jarrus, you are as bad as they are! Admit it! You wouldn't mind staying here longer?"

He smiled and motioned her to the door, "Can't let the kids have all the fun. Let's get our winter gear on."

Laughter from outside the ship made them smile...


End file.
